canela

Can anyone recommend a dance class for 4 year olds? Preferably in the week. Street dance would be great if there is any around....

signed.

I feel your pain. I think working parents come up against dilemmas like this all the time...and you just have to find a way to muddle through. I think there are loads of advantages of working closer to home, and in the summer this will mean that you can still enjoy a nice evening together - picnic in the park etc. about the summer holidays, I think you just focus on making sure your child has a good summer. this might mean taking off a 2 week chunk yourself, maybe overlapping with your partner just for a week so your child can be at home for 3 weeks. The other time you look around for things they will really enjoy doing, plus see if you can arrange some swaps with friends/ relatives etc. as they get older they might enjoy going to stay with a relative for a while as well. but don't worry if you don't fancy it yet. the choice is yours...

are there others you would recommend BB? I'm also v interested in drama activities...

I think some children are natural believers....and some adults also. I was raised by a committed atheist and had no religious education at home at all. Yet of my own accord I read the books of the main religions and tried out different things like prayer, meditation, Quakers etc. I remember very frustrating conversations with my mother who would respond to all my "why?" questions with books about science - and that is not what I meant at all. She still finds it difficult to see my spiritual side as anything beyond an adolescent "stage" that I never grew out of - so we just don't talk about it much really. I suppose just as church goers have to be prepared that their kids might not follow their beliefs, so might atheists....

Does anyone have experience of getting a same-day appointment for a child at a dentist? My 4 year old has never been, but has suddenly got terrible tooth ache so I want to take her tomorrow. I haven't registered at one locally yet and I'm worried it's going to be really difficult to get seen quickly.

my sister calmly tucked into hers with a knife and fork, whilst being watched by in-laws not knowing which way to look!

the cafe in Dulwich Park is organising something I think

Hi I have two tickets for Wizard of Oz at Apollo Victoria, Saturday at 2:30. It's not the original - but a version looking at characters that don't exist but could! Think would be suitable for slightly older children really. Collect from SE22. Yours for BOW.

mine do. I keep them on the same body-clock routine - so it's just an hour earlier to bed and an hour earlier to rise. plus we all just seem to go to bed earlier in the winter - surely a normal reaction to being dark so early! i don't mean they go to bed ridiculously early though. in our house it means changing from 9pm to 8pm, and up at 6 rather than 7. and I'm not talking toddlers - bit older now. so much easier!

but on the plus side they do go to bed a whole lot earlier in the winter!

I feel your pain! is such a challenge. I can't do early morning because as soon as I stir the kids wake-up. Though perhaps now we'll have a long morning we could all do a DVD together??? I used to cycle to work but then my hubby pinched the bike, so now I do a 30 min brisk walk at each end of my public transport journey, i.e. get off the bus a really long way from where I live. Could you do one class a week? I find doing one is at least better than doing none..... really like the idea of those 20 min work out DVDs tho....

Kew Garden is doing pumpkin activities.

go to a spa

I would go with the bottle and not worry about it. It's just a temporary stop-gap until she is able to go the whole day without napping and not getting too tired. That day will come. I went through this with number 1. In the end I stopped worrying about whether he would nap and just made sure I got 15 minutes snatched down-time during the day so I could deal with the moodiness.

another vote for co-sleeping to get through it. life is just too hard when you are sleep deprived. just do it, and enjoy it as a special time together. when the time is right, you can go back to separate rooms.

I used to put toddler (and then afterwards toddler plus baby) in the car and drive to a quiet spot - usually somewhere we could visit afterwards, like the car park in Dulwich Park or something. 2 sleeping children. i either took along a thermos and a magazine or else had a nap myself. joy.

and similarly if you didn't grow up in London, there can often be just an assumption that at some point you will leave it again. lots of people come to London for work when they are young but never envisaged having a family here. trouble is, London can be very difficult to leave - especially work wise.

why don't you try camping or chalet-style accommodation? a couple of friends get caravan-style things in campsites in France by the beach and say they are great. cheaper too as can take ferry and drive.

get a poncho, and stick both your heads out the hole. or a woollen shawl.

It is a union-led strike, so the teachers belonging to certain unions are striking. that is why not all the classes at Heber are closed on 17th. It is wider than Southwark - not sure if just London or nationwide.

not all children are admitted to a school already with a SEN. In many cases the SEN needs are only identified once formal schooling starts, and are only moved if the school is unable to provide the necessary support.

and as the parent mail says, it's still the same great school it was before the inspectors arrived.

I think if your child is still rocky at school and doesn't have any firm attachment to it, then moving may not make that worse and could actually improve the situation. It depends on the new school and how good it is. My eldest took ages to settle in reception, and when we moved mid-way through Year 1 I was really worried about how this would impact on him. Turns out it was the best thing ever for him. He just responded totally differently to the new school, loved it, and settled in really quickly. Interestingly, the old school was a good 20 min drive away whereas the new school is 5 mins walk - meaning that he could now have playdates etc a lot easier, plus it was much less stress in the morning. reception is still very young. So maybe best to move now and settle everyone into a good routine that will last for the rest of primary?

I think if you give out rewards for everyday behaviour like getting dressed or brushing teeth, then you are setting yourself up for a lot of little cars! the only time i have used rewards is to get everyone out of the house in the morning, and it was a team reward for all of us. then once it was established as a habit we dropped the reward. also, if you just use rewards you don't leave room to explain the reason why some things are necessary. your son is a bit young now, but in a few years he should be brushing his teeth because he understands he needs to if they are going to stay strong. i would say most 2 year olds need some space in which to be difficult, try out the limits of their self, power etc. it can be a bit annoying but if you see it as normal rather than bad behaviour you might find it easier to deal with? i always find the best way to get my kids to do anything is to make it fun. sometimes you don't believe it is going to work, but even just "bet you can't get ready by the time i count 100" can spark off their imagination and turn a situation around. good luck.